Too many new rules: fans

Survey ... the sliding rule got a mixed reception in the footy fans survey. Source: Wayne Ludbey / News Limited

AS A champion Richmond rover and later lethal forward, Kevin Bartlett had an instinct on how to bend rules to suit his elusive style.

So KB was always going to be a perfect fit as a member of the AFL's laws of the game committee.

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He and six committee colleagues ratified new rules this season: a crackdown on prohibited contact below the knees; ruckmen to be separated by at least 1m at contests around the ground; and the field umpire to toss up the ball instead of bouncing it.

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"I would be surprised if any fan survey showed that these changes weren't getting the support of the football community," Bartlett said.

While the new rules earned a tick on some fronts in the Herald Sun Fox Footy Fans Survey, an overwhelming majority said there were too many rule changes.

Nearly half the fans supported the sliding rule that was tightened after Sydney midfielder Gary Rohan's shocking ankle injury early last season.

"I think the sliding rule has been well accepted by the players because it's for their protection," Bartlett said.

"The separation at ruck contests has added a lot to ruckwork. I don't think too many people want to see players locking horns and wrestling each other to the ground.

"I think you'll find clearances have gone up since the ruckwork has been better executed.

"And the ruckman has to be a little more creative in what's a very important part of the game.

"And the umpire throwing up the ball around the ground has allowed the game to be more continuous.

"I think the fans would give a big tick to those three rules."

Not surprisingly, the main focus of fan unrest was the AFL match review panel, with 89 per cent disapproval over the inconsistencies sending a message for an end-of-season review of these reviewers.

Does the AFL make too many rules changes?
Yes - 86%
No - 14 %

Do you think the tribunal/ MRP hand out consistent penalties?
Yes - 12%
No - 88%

Do you support the new sliding rule?
Yes - 44%
No - 56%

How do you rate the use of goal-line video technology?
Support - 6%
Support but better technology needed - 74%
Don't support - 20%

Is the game harder or softer than 10 years ago?
Harder - 30%
Softer - 55%
No change - 15%

Do you think the AFL fixture is fair?
Yes - 30%
No - 70%

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Australia's lofty moral perch torn away

Still standing ... James Hird is the face of Essendon's drugs saga. Source: Michael Dodge / Getty Images

THE AFL powerbrokers returning from the US could not have escaped the blanket coverage of baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez's 211-game drug ban.

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The New York Yankee is the best-known of 13 major league players suspended this week for infractions linked to a Miami drug lab.

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Unfortunately it was deja vu for Rodriguez, who in 2009 admitted to drug use early in his career, went clean for a while, then jumped right back on the gear.

As recently as last year Australian sports fans would have tut-tutted about yet another American drug cheat from a lofty place we believed we occupied on the moral high ground.

No one is suggesting any real correlation between Australian footballers and Rodriguez' use of anabolic steroids.

But as football grapples with the Ahmed Saad case and the Essendon peptides scandal, it is clear that the sanctimonious, righteous position we once held has been ripped away.

As Mark Thompson admitted and the Switkowski report confirmed, Essendon did undertake a "risky" sports science experiment that went right to the edge of legality.

And players like Saad are prepared to dabble in energy drinks with potentially illegal substances that, in his case, could end his career.

We used to scoff at talk of performance-enhancing drugs in sport, writing off Justin Charles' positive test as isolated.

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Yet with young, body-conscious, musclebound risk-takers pushing the envelope, the anecdotal evidence is that suburban, country and VFL players are still seeking the added edge.

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Banned VFL player Matt Clark told News Limited last week that 15 of his teammates were using the Hemo Rage drink that resulted in him being ousted for two years.

They had been told it was legal for VFL, but that is still a staggering number of players deciding to turn to even an energy drink to try to get that little legal edge.

As many as five VFL players have breached the ASADA code in recent years, and a similar number in the WAFL. Some in the WAFL, like Travis Casserly, took two sudafel tablets and some blatantly took steroids and were caught.

The AFL scene is rigorously policed, as proved by Dane Swan's tweets about yet another test this week and the Herald Sun's February report that as many as 12 players from a Victorian teams had been extensively target-tested.

But in a risk-taking society with the prize of AFL football so cherished, do we still believe some state league players would not turn to that something extra to push themselves above the pack?

The surprise is not that it is happening, but that we are are so naive to think it is not.

After all, Australian cycling has had to get its head around lauded ambassadors Matt White and Stuart O'Grady being exposed as drug cheats.

Australian cycling has had to get its head around lauded ambassadors like Matt White and Stuart O'Grady being exposed as blatant drug cheats.

AFL football is nowhere near that stage yet but those who believe the Essendon experience is a line-in-the-sand moment from which we will quickly recover are surely in fantasy land.

The question now is how the AFL uses this episode to better an AFL game rocked by controversy after controversy in the past 12 months.

So what now?

Are players sufficiently scared by the 1000-plus tests for PEDs in the AFL to decide taking border-line substances is a risk not worth taking?

They haven't really listened on the illicit drugs issue given the mocking way they began self-reporting in droves last year.

But then again bans are much harder to come by with the illicit drugs policy given how challenging it is to lodge three strikes.

Is more awareness the key, or will yet another video session about the dangers of drugs just see the eyes of players glaze over?

Or will the Essendon and Saad issues finally scare the living Christ out of players who to be honest only have one fear, and that is to be stopped from playing the game they love?

No one believes AFL player players regularly abuse steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.

But the urge to hark back to simpler times where players wore lace-up jumpers and didn't even consider the temptation of quick-fix substances is just as fanciful.

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Hird set to lay eyes on ASADA report

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Saga ... James Hird's coaching career could ride on the ASADA interim report. Source: Michael Dodge / Getty Images

JAMES Hird will today lay eyes on the drugs report that could derail his coaching career as new details emerge of the pressure on him in April to stand down.

It is understood Essendon's crisis manager Elizabeth Lukin spoke to Hird in Perth by phone on the eve of the club's Round 3 match against Fremantle.

The pair discussed the growing crisis amid intense speculation on his future.

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It was the second time in two days Hird felt pressure from figures connected to the club to step aside.

Lukin would not comment on the phone call on Tuesday night.

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Hird's lawyers were on Tuesday given access to the 400-page Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) interim report into Essendon's 2012 supplements program.

Hird was due to read the report on Wednesday.

AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon has the task of deciding whether to charge Essendon and/or club officials over the supplements scandal.

Essendon and individuals would be given up to two weeks to respond, with the AFL Commission the final authority.

The Commission is due to meet this month on Monday, and again on August 26.

Hird has maintained he has done nothing wrong but if the Commission finds otherwise, he could be suspended from the AFL.

It was revealed yesterday Hird's lawyer, Tony Nolan SC, was contacted by another lawyer, Tony Hargreaves, on Wednesday, April 10. Hird was advised to consider his position.

Hargreaves is working for Essendon but insisted this week he did not pass on a message under instructions from Essendon or the club's board.

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Lukin and Hird spoke on the telephone the next day.

The following day, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said on 3AW that stepping down was something the Bombers coach should consider.

"As he goes through his thought process ... that is an option he has to consider," Demetriou said.

Hird was still a week away from facing ASADA investigators.

Lukin, a public relations expert, was hired by the Bombers in February to help steer the club through the drugs crisis.

She was present in the AFL boardroom on the morning of February 5 when club chiefs met with the AFL to discuss plans to hold a press conference to explain why the club had "self-reported" to the league and ASADA.

Lukin had previously advised Essendon.

Her other clients have included West Coast during the Ben Cousins drugs saga and senior AFL figures, including Demetriou.

"My five years experience providing issues management advice for AFL leaders Wayne Jackson and Andrew Demetriou has underlined to me how important it is to protect their reputations while managing their campaigns," Lukin says in one online profile.

After Essendon chairman David Evans resigned 12 days ago, Lukin parted ways with the club.

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Watmough phone held by Customs

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Consficated ... Watmough is the second NRL star to have his phone seized by Customs. Source: Sam Ruttyn / News Limited

ANTHONY Watmough has emerged as the second NRL player to have his phone temporarily seized by Customs, following revelations Sharks skipper Paul Gallen was also stopped at Sydney airport on Sunday.

Border protection agents detained Gallen long enough for him to miss the team bus back to Cronulla and confiscated his phone for a period of time.

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Gallen was returning from Auckland, where his team had defeated the New Zealand Warriors a day earlier.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal Watmough's phone was examined in similar circumstances when Manly returned across the Tasman after their round 13 clash against New Zealand.

Both players have received interview notices in relation to ASADA's drugs-in-sport probe, but government officials would not confirm nor deny whether the phone seizures were connected to the current investigation.

A Customs spokeswoman said the agency could not comment about individual passengers, while ASADA simply refused to comment at all.

It's believed Customs was acting at the behest of another federal agency.

The Australian Crime Commission compiled the explosive report that ASADA has used as a road map for its entire investigation.

Manly boss David Perry did not return calls last night, while a Sea Eagles spokesman denied knowing Watmough's phone had been taken.

Watmough's management also said it was unaware of the temporary seizure. Gallen did not return calls.

Several other media outlets reported that Gallen had denied his phone had been seized, but the NSW Origin star is yet to speak about the incident first hand.

A Sharks spokesman could only confirm Gallen was subjected to a "more vigorous" search, which delayed the team bus. ASADA is already in possession of hundreds of text messages from a phone belonging to Steve Dank, the sports scientist at the centre of its investigation.

Some of those texts involve conversations with Gallen. Both Dank and Gallen have denied any wrongdoingwith the Sharks skipper expressing his frustration over being the highest-profile player implicated in the ASADA investigation. 

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Don't end our season: Sharks

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Sharks ... faced disqualification from the NRL competition. Source: Brett Costello / News Limited

CRONULLA officials were in frantic negotiations with the NRL to avoid the prospect of disqualification just a month after the ASADA investigation was launched.

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The Daily Telegraph has sighted correspondence between Sharks officials and NRL boss Dave Smith, which revealed the club's desire to stand down all affected coaching staff and players prior to round one.

Cronulla were of a belief that if any of the affected persons were later found guilty of an anti-doping violation, the club could be exposed to retrospective loss of competition points or wholesale disqualification.

The Sharks even went as far as to seek assurances from Smith against any such penalties.

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"On the basis this is achieved and the ASADA affected players are removed from or playing ranks, then it is in the best interests of rehabilitation of the club that we obtain an assurance from the NRL that season 2013 will not be subject of future penalties or sanctions arising from this matter," the Sharks wrote in early March.

"We seek this assurance from the NRL in advance of (round one) so it can be communicated to our supporters and season seat holders."

The secret negotiations have emerged as the AFL considers whether to disqualify Essendon prior to the finals.

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The NRL last night confirmed all options were being entertained, but that no decision would be made until ASADA finalises its report into the Sharks.

Interviews with 11 Cronulla players over the club's 2011 supplement program only re-commenced yesterday and won't be completed until August 28.

The NRL finals start a fortnight later, meaning there's virtually zero chance that any findings into Cronulla will be made before the season's biggest games.

Currently sixth, the Sharks need just two wins from their remaining five matches to be assure a top eight finish.

But a disturbing can of worms could be opened should ASADA find any coaching staff or players guilty of anti-doping violations that support a case of systemic drug use at the club in 2011.

Under that scenario, the NRL would be under enormous pressure to not issue infraction notices against individuals but only penalise the club as a whole.

And because the penalty would be applied retrospectively, it would come as no consolation to the ninth-placed team that missed-out or any sides that Cronulla might eliminate during the finals series itself.

Over the past week, Cronulla has done little to endear itself to the NRL.

The club's new board re-instated sacked trainer Mark Noakes against Smith's wishes, while skipper Paul Gallen this week bemoaned the level of support from the NRL.

NRL insiders found Gallen's comments curious, given he recently engaged an independent lawyer. The NRL claims it has been helping Cronulla fund the players' legal representative, Richard Redman.

But the NRL has otherwise kept a much greater distance from the ASADA probe than their AFL counterparts in Melbourne.

First, the AFL and ASADA reached a written understanding that contemplated Essendon players escaping ban under the "No Fault or Negligence" defence.

Smith was furious when he learned of the unilateral negotiations, which were immediately ceased in favour of a set of equal conditions for both codes.

Next, the AFL has attended all ASADA interviews while the NRL was not present when Sharks back rower Wade Graham was questioned in April. That absence has now been addressed for the second round of interviews.

But the most striking difference is the timing.

The deliverance of the interim findings into Essendon has given AFL boss Andrew Demetriou an entire month to decide Essendon's fate, while keeping in mind the sanctity of his code's finals series.

Because their clubs and players failed to co-operate the first time around, Smith and the NRL don't enjoy the same luxury.

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NRL 360: A tale of two halfbacks

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Up and Down ... Adam Reynolds and Mitch Pearce have a change of fortunes. Source:FoxSports

TWO halfbacks walked on the field last weekend, two very different halfbacks walked off it. Two halfbacks with it all at stake.

One plays for a future already written, the other to rewrite his past.

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Only one will prevail.

Adam Reynolds ran on the field Saturday night with South Sydney - the competition leader - a position the Rabbitohs have held most of the year.

The Dally M Rookie of the Year, his second season was holding up whatever scrutiny the award brought him, and it always brings some.

Yet 80 minutes later Reynolds limped off, slightly injured, with the work ahead of him. John Sutton was in the dressing room with ice on an ankle that looked like it had a water balloon attached to the side.

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Two to four weeks, they said about Sutton.

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Join Paul Kent and Ben Ikin live on Wednesday at 7.30pm for NRL 360 on Fox Sports

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Reynolds got the all clear, but Greg Inglis was still injured and not due back until just before the playoffs.

The Rabbitohs' spine, as they call it, was cut in half.

The night before, after the Sydney Roosters killed off Penrith, Pearce stood next to Brad Fittler to get his man of the match award.

Second question, Fittler asked what was learned from the Origin loss.

"For me, personally, I've learned just to try to come up with better last plays," Pearce said.

"Me and Jimmy [Maloney], it probably wasn't the best in the first half but that's a big focus for me.

"Just to pull myself out of play sometimes and just think my way around the field a bit more.

"Know when the team needs a restart or a good kick down field, just to build a bit of pressure.

"It's a work in progress but I have been working hard at it since I got back."

Reynolds and Pearce have battled all year, since NSW coach Laurie Daley declared in his newspaper column that Pearce was his NSW halfback come hail, as it eventually did, or shine.

Some believed his time was up.

They believed Reynolds was ready.

Some believed Pearce was on his last chance.

They want Reynolds to replace him.

They put blame for NSW's loss at Pearce's feet, and it was nothing of the sort.

When Pearce returned to the Roosters he resumed a conversation he started with coach Trent Robinson the first time they sat together after Robinson took the job.

The irony of Pearce's career is that, for all the boy-most-likely tags attached early on, he has never been properly taught how to play halfback.

While the tools are all there, the running and passing, the subtlety, the key to the good halfbacks is game management, last play kicking, playing to the team's structures.

The chief criticism of Pearce through Origin was an inability to close a set, which happens to be Reynolds' great strength.

Polish, they say.

Robinson listened to the criticism and realised, while not right, it wasn't completely invalid.

"You don't get those opportunities to really have a look at the essence of a guy's decision making until they get to the top end," he said yesterday.

So his education with Pearce continues

Two halfbacks, two directions.

Pearce walked off man of the match match with the Roosters now sharing equal first spot, ahead on percentages.

The following night they held it when Sutton limped off and the Rabbitohs went down to North Queensland.

The loss was significant for more than the change in competition ladder.

It brings us back to the debate Daley started before round one, and might cause some to reassess their .

Sutton has been Reynolds great foil throughout the season, the creative playmaker in the Rabbitohs line-up. It allowed Reynolds to take himself out of sets until he needed to bring the polish others talk about.

For years Pearce has tried to do both roles, now Reynolds will now to accept a greater role in the Rabbitohs playmaking.

There is no reason he can't do it, but it will certainly be tougher.

The finals are also nearing and, while Sutton and Inglis will be back in the side, finals football brings a pressure some might call Origin-like.

It's different.

Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire knows the change ahead, and is gearing Reynolds for it.

"We talk about things all the time," he said.

"Situations in games, when to put plays on, we're always talking about scenarios, what happens.

"But he likes his footy so he tends to come to me about a umber of things, too."

Rightly or wrongly, Pearce, 24, and Reynolds, 23, have become attached this season and could remain that way the rest of their careers.

They are in charge of the best two teams in the competition, and it starts now.

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